Pretty little moments

My favourite bookstore | Ice skating outdoors in -7 degree weather (not uncommon here in autumn) | The town is all dressed up for Christmas | A family of deer trekking through the back garden on Thanksgiving

In my town there is magic. It lives in the dust on the shelves of the independent bookstores, in the elusive glory of the creatures of the mountains, and in that opaque yet palpable aura folks like to call Christmas cheer. Sometimes, it is so gracious as to hover long enough for me to capture a comparatively dull expression of it with my lens. Sometimes, I feel the hand of beauty reaching for mine, compelling me to discover and inviting me to gaze in awe. And in those moments, I know I'll never grow up.

x

Chanelle

Follow @notsonaked

My first Thanksgiving

Asos trench coat | Pins and Needles top | J. Crew belt | Forever 21 skirt | Target knee-high socks | Deena & Ozzy mule wedges | Forever 21 owl feather necklace

Hype on Lookbook

A quick trip to Denver's Cherry Creek shopping centre this morning resulted in the haul of my life from Urban Outfitters: 11 things for $100. One of the (four!) pairs of shoes I bought was just 5 cents. Dear Australia, this is the wonder of North America's annual Black Friday sale. (Yes, it unfortunately shares its name with Victoria's Black Friday fires. I feel somewhat irreverent in rejoicing in the homonymous sale...)

Yesterday marked my first Thanksgiving celebration, which I spent with my roommate's family in Colorado Springs. I still don't completely understand what it's all about, though, since the majority of the day involves eating and none of it involves acknowledging the indigenous ownership of the land. Nevertheless, it was all kinds of yumminess.

What did you snag at the sales today, dear old yankees?

x

Chanelle

Vote for Not So Naked in 2threads.com's Best Fashion Blog category!

Follow @notsonaked

The evening before the night before the morning after*

I'm plagued with indecision. You'd think getting dressed would be easier when most of your clothes are thousands of kilometres away, but alas, it takes just as long when you're dressing out of a suitcase. I've developed a vague system beginning with the dress, moving on to shoes, then jacket, then accessories. As you can see, those are the only pairs of heels I have here! (I'm learning to deal...when I get home to my display cabinet full of heels I will smother it in cuddles and kisses.)

Clockwise from top: Asos Premium raw-edged silk dress, Forever 21 skirt, Kimchi Blue dress, Zanerobe Zippora dress, Silence + Noise dress, BB Dakota skirt

Clockwise from top: Deena & Ozzy mule wedges, Steve Madden Daynty clogs, Tristan Blair Suesan heels

Clockwise from top: Esprit faux fur hoodie, Lauren by Ralph Lauren blazer, Bardot blazer, vintage fur coat, vintage trench coat, vintage cardigan

Clockwise from top: are you kidding me?!

And of course this can't be done without good tunes (I like Eliza Doolittle, Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, and Metric) and a good beverage - check out the tips at Smirnoff's Home Bar for super drinks.

x

Chanelle

*This is a collaborated post with 2threads.com and Smirnoff.

Don't forget to vote for Not So Naked under 'Best Fashion Blog' at 2threads.com/vote!

Follow @notsonaked

Feather cape + Backless dress

Asos feather cape | Vintage floppy hat | Bardot ring | Zanerobe Zippora dress (available anywhere that stocks Zanerobe, or online at Privilege Boutique) | Tristan Blair Suesan shoes

This dress, sent by Zanerobe, is one of those ones that is the perfect not-too-tight, not-too-baggy cut. They're hard to find at the moment, what with the high street's perpetual obsession with bodycon. It's sexy without trying too hard. Sure, it's simple, but in more of an unaffected way than any.

And all that only serves to make it a natural partner for my new obsession, the Asos feather cape. (It came three weeks late, but I'm looking past that.) It sold out in black, but for $20, you won't hear any complaints from me about the grey. (I would have preferred not to pair it with the Tristan Blair shoes, but I literally have two pairs of heels here. Ugh.)

x Chanelle

PS - Vote for Not So Naked in the 2Threads.com fashion awards (in the 'Best Fashion Blog' category)! If we win, I'm going to release a little treat for all our readers in the form of a photographic Photoshop action (and probably a giveaway too)!

Follow @notsonaked

All Hallow's Eve

AA model (with my pirate friend Brittany): Vintage fur (had little to do with the costume. I was cold!) | Bec & Bridge for Sportsgirl cossie | knee-high socks and flat oxfords

Miley Cyrus: Asos feather cape | Bec & Bridge for Sportsgirl cossie | Forever 21 knuckle ring | Diva rings | Asos leather studded bangle | Charlotte Russe feather earrings and thigh high boots

I don't usually endorse the celebration of Halloween in Australia, so this was all completely new to me. Call it rebellion against American social hegemony, if you will. (On a related note, it was shocking how many Americans were oblivious to the fact that Halloween, Thanksgiving and Independence Day are unique to the US.)

When American students do Halloween, they go all out. Halloween lasts Thursday to Sunday night, with pre-gaming on Wednesday night. Most people have different costumes every night, and in accordance with Cady's famous words on Mean Girls, most parties were total slut-fests. (Let's just say my costumes were conservative in comparison with plenty of others.) 

I didn't want to buy anything new so I worked with what I had. Thursday night (or round 1, as we call it) found me as an American Apparel model, but it seems I wasn't smart enough to take half decent photos. On Friday, I was Miley Cyrus in her 'Can't Be Tamed' video, mostly because I just wanted to wear feathers and nobody here knows who Lily Allen is. The next night I took five buses to Denver to see Two Door Cinema Club and review it for the magazine I'm working for here. It was a bloody good show! I had to go by myself and stay at a hostel because nobody has ever heard of them here, but at least I was at the very front. 

What I want to know is what my North American readers dressed up! Do tell.

x Chanelle

PS: We were featured on PayPal's fashion blog Lustable this week, and I just realised I never posted the September feature we had on the blog of The Style Net, an amazing Adelaide-based shopping directory.

Follow @notsonaked